Berlin comes to Manchester in November in Berlin Now, a six-day festival showcasing the best, the hippest, and most happening art, theatre, film, and music, live and direct from a city that has long been the home of one of Europe’s hottest creative scenes.

Artists, filmmakers and creatives have for generations descended on Berlin to find a welcoming environment to live and work. Berlin continues to attract the avant-garde and artistic experimentalists, who take advantage of the opportunities offered by one of the most culturally diverse cities in Europe, not to mention the plentiful availability of cheap rent.

A city that values, nurtures, and gives a home to performers, Berlin’s atmosphere, and style will be transported to HOME for six days of quirky cross-art performances giving Manchester audiences a unique insight into the city’s underground arts scene. All the performances will take place in HOME’s Theatre 2 space, which will be transformed to create an intimate cabaret atmosphere.

Whatever preconceptions of German art people may have, prepare to have fun and expect the unexpected!

THEATRE, MUSIC

Portraits in Motion

Thu 3 – Sat 5 Nov 19:00, £12 (£10 with multi-ticket deal)

Master of flipbooks Volker Gerling has spent more than 10 years travelling throughout Germany creating flipbooks. Portraits in Motion, a charming and heart-warming account of the people he’s met at the places he’s been to, won a Total Theatre award for innovation at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival.

Alexander Geist: Swansong

Thu 3 Nov 21:00, £6 (£4 with multi-ticket deal)

Combining the mordant wit of Morrissey with the soundscape of Giorgio Moroder and the sensibilities of Manet, Alexander Geist’s describes his musical style as ‘morose disco-soul.’ This exclusive performance will be a true one-off from one of the most captivating performers currently working in Berlin.

Muttis Kinder

Fri 4/Sat 5 Nov 21:00, £12 (£10 with multi-ticket deal)

Award-winning a-cappella wunderkinds Claudia Gray, Marcus Melzwig and Christopher Nell hit all the right musical and theatrical spots. The darlings of the Berlin cabaret scene – Alanis Morrissette and Leonard Cohen meet Rihanna, Metallica and more – expect a perfect vocal blend of sexy acoustic surprises and a large dose of humour.

STAGED READING

The Blue Blue Sea

Sat 5 Nov 14:00, £3

Nis-Momme Stockmann’s play, about two people who strike up an unlikely friendship, will be directed by Walter Meierjohann, HOME’s Artistic Director: Theatre. The cast comprises HOME’s Associate Artist Katie West, David Judge, who appeared in Chamaco in HOME’s Cuba Now festival, and Reuben Johnson, who was in On Corporation Street, both earlier this year.

PANEL DISCUSSION

Wings of Desire: Where is the Berlin Arts Scene Now?

Sat 5 Nov 15:30, £3

The reading will be followed by a discussion examining the role of Berlin in Europe’s art ecology. Amongst the panellists will be Berlin-based Turner Prize nominee Phil Collins, James King of leading film distributors and exhibitors Curzon Artificial Eye, and theatre critic Andrew Haydon (Postcards From the Gods). The panel will be chaired by lecturer and filmmaker Christiane Hitzemann.

FILM PROGRAMME

Victoria (15, 2015)

Wed 2 Nov, 20:05

Actor/director Sebastian Schipper tells the story of a Spanish woman and her new-found friends over the course of one breathless night on the streets of Berlin.

A Coffee in Berlin (CTBA, 2012)

Fri 4 Nov 18:20

This love-letter to Berlin and Generation Y depicts a day in the life of twenty- something law school dropout Niko.

Christiane F (18, 1981)

Sun 6 Nov 17:30

A gritty drama based on the true confessions of 13-year-old Christiane who becomes embroiled in the 1970s West Berlin drug scene.

Yella (12A, 2007)

Mon 7 Nov 18:20

Nina Hoss plays a young woman estranged from her possessive, violent ex in Christian Petzold’s ice-cool, witty and mysterious drama.

THEATRE WORKSHOP

Prior to the festival, on Fri 28 – Sun 30 Oct, Berlin-based director Lily Sykes leads a three-day workshop based on award-winning playwright Ronald Schimmelpfennig’s play The Woman Before, aimed at emerging and established theatre-makers.

All the events, other than the four film screenings, will be staged in Theatre 2 at HOME.

Berlin Now is supported by the German Embassy London,and the Goethe-Institut London.

More details

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